<p>I had never heard of this- although I admit when I buy flu remedies I do usually purchase for a single symptom rather than one size fits all for every sympton you might ever have.
I have noticed that most stores nowdays do lock up their cold medicines- <a href=“http://www.komotv.com/stories/37598.htm[/url]”>http://www.komotv.com/stories/37598.htm</a></p>
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<p>It is amazing what kids will come up with…and very very scary</p>
<p>dextromethorphan is similar in structure to morphine. It has a rotation in the molecule that is in what is designated the right hand direction. Hence the dextro in the name. It is a cough suppressant like morphine but without some of the other effects, so it’s supposed to be safe. It is safe in comparison to morphine, but has some other suppressing effects. Every once in a while over the years kids have drunk it to get high. (Remember Romilar?) Combined with the effects of other suppressants such as alcohol it can be deadly, but alcohol itself can be deadly.</p>
<p>When we were in the states at Christmas, we tried to stock up on some meds that are hard for us to get (due to language problems – how do you say decongestant in German?) or expensive over here. Wal_Mart would only allow us to buy four packages of cold meds – we had picked up five different kinds / combinations, but their register balked at the fifth package. They explained that there was a limit on the number we were allowed to buy that had a certain ingredient, because of the abuse problem. This was in PA – don’t know if it’s all over. It caught me by surprise that they would regulate it like that – but we just went across the street to Target… Not sure how they think that’s control.</p>
<p>Binx - people were going to Walmart and buying cold medicines by the case to use as raw materials in meth labs. Honestly, if you have a relatively healthy family with no chronic health conditions (particularly no high blood pressure or heart disease), and you are a reasonably faithful follower of directions (you don’t subscribe to the philosophy that if 1 aspirin makes me feel a little better, then 4 should totally knock out my headache ;)), then some of the over the counter cold meds available in Europe work much better than those available in the US. There are a couple of ingredients that have been recently banned (I can’t quote which ones). These are ingredients still available in Europe that are safe and effective when taken as recommended, which includes not being taken by persons with heart disease, but have been removed because of litigation and the diversion issue.</p>
<p>I’m sure you’re right Cangel. It’s just so complicated to get meds here. All drugs are sold at a pharmacy, behind a counter, whether or not they are by prescription. You can’t just walk into WalMart and peruse the brands yourself. You ask for something by name, and an employee gives it to you. (In some cases, you are charged extra if you didn’t bring your own bottle! Paid a fortune for some Peroxide because I didn’t know to bring my own container.) </p>
<p>When we first moved here, my foreign blood seemed to attract all the mosquitoes. I went in to try to buy a “Skeeter stick” or Benadryl stick or the like. Never was able to get exactly what I wanted – don’t know if they didn’t have it, or I just wasn’t explaining well enough. Another time, I bought some Ibuprofen. Wasn’t given a choice of quantity or brand. She handed me a packet of 15 or so pills (albeit double the US strength) and charged me 12 Euros (about $15).</p>
<p>Doctors write prescriptions for everything. Fortunately, my nursing background comes in handy. When he wrote my husband a “prescription” for saline nosedrops and acetominophen, the medical terminology was close enough for me to understand, and I could tell my husband not to bother filling it. (We had plenty of Tylenol, and we make our own saline drops.)</p>
<p>And then, of course, there is the problem reading the directions. Fortunately I noticed that their “Motrin” version was double the US strength, or I would have overdosed my D! So it’s just easier to bring it from the US.</p>